CNN
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Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky says he is pushing forward the ceasefire talks in pursuit of a meeting with Russia next week.
Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Defense Council, has already proposed a next meeting with the Russian side next week, Zelensky said in his daily speech on Saturday.
“The negotiation dynamics must be improved. We need to do everything possible to achieve a ceasefire. The Russians must avoid decisions regarding prisoner interaction, child return and halt killing,” Zelensky said.
“Conferences at the leadership level are truly essential to ensure peace. Ukraine is ready for such a meeting,” he added.
Meanwhile, Russian state media outlet Tass reported that sources close to the Russian negotiation team have confirmed that they have received Kiev’s proposal for the meeting.
The final round of the ceasefire talks in Istanbul ended swiftly in early June. Representatives from Russia and Ukraine barely met for over an hour before it stopped. According to Russian state media, Russia has submitted its largest territorial request as part of the prerequisite for a ceasefire. Ukraine previously refused to consider territorial concessions in exchange for peace.
Zelensky’s call for consultation has been received after President Donald Trump provided a 50-day window to provide Russian President Vladimir Putin with a 50-day window to achieve a “secondary tariff” on goods from countries purchasing Russian oil before the US implemented high tariffs on Russian goods.
“If there’s no transaction in 50 days, we’re going to put in very strict tariffs,” Trump said during a meeting with NATO executive director Mark Latte earlier this week in an oval office.
“I use trades on a lot of things,” Trump added. “But it’s perfect for solving wars.”
Trump has expressed an increase in complaints with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks, even complaining that Putin’s assurances about progress in the ceasefire are “bulk.”
However, Western analysts and Ukrainian officials say the president’s 50-day window is unlikely to stop Putin from promoting Russian summer attacks in the coming weeks. Furthermore, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has dismissed Trump’s threatened tariffs as merely a dull one.
“50 days – it used to be 24 hours,” Lavrov said. “It used to be 100 days. We’ve been through all of this.”
